According to a government report which emerged from the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country's top planners want to double GDP and per capita incomes for both urban and rural residents from 2010 levels by 2020, marking the first time the central government has ever laid down a quantitative target for raising incomes.

In order to accomplish this goal, leaders need to use rational policies and objective standards to avoid uneven distribution of wealth. It may be impossible for the government to completely redistribute the country's wealth fairly and evenly, but there are certain steps the government can take to bridge the dangerously wide gap between rich and poor.

Firstly, authorities should focus on policies which promote labor productivity through industrial reforms.

Secondly, the government needs to set incremental goals for increasing salaries and wages.

Thirdly, social services should be expanded and improved in order to keep more money in people's pockets.

Lastly, taxes need to be lowered in order to nurture the country's putative consumer class.

The author is Ma Tao, a researcher from the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.

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